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Thursday, March 14, 2013

Scenes - Scene Setting, Resolution and Tension

14 March 2013, Scenes - Scene Setting, Resolution and Tension

Introduction: I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon. This was my 21st novel and through this blog, I gave you the entire novel in installments that included commentary on the writing. In the commentary, in addition to other general information on writing, I explained, how the novel was constructed, the metaphors and symbols in it, the writing techniques and tricks I used, and the way I built the scenes. You can look back through this blog and read the entire novel beginning with http://www.pilotlion.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-novel-part-3-girl-and-demon.html.

I'm using this novel as an example of how I produce, market, and eventually (we hope) get a novel published. I'll keep you informed along the way.

Today's Blog: To see the steps in the publication process, visit my writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

A scene outline is a means of writing a novel where each scene follows the other with a scene input from the previous scene and a scene output that leads to the next scene. The scenes don't necessarily have to follow directly in time and place, however they generally follow the storyline of the protagonist.

A storyline outline is a means of writing a novel where the author develops a scene outline for more than one character and bases the plot on one or more of these storyline scenes. This allows the scenes to focus on more than the protagonist. This is a very difficult means of writing. There is a strong chance of confusing your readers.

Whether you write with a scene outline or a storyline outline, you must properly develop your scenes. All novels are developed from scenes and each scene has a design similar to a novel. Every successful novel has the following basic parts:

There are lots of approaches to scene setting. That means there are about a million plus ways you can set a scene. The main point is you have to clearly get across the where, when, who, what, and how.

Here is another example of scene setting from the novel, Aksinya. I'm giving you examples from the book so you can see different ways of introducing and writing a scene. In each snippet, you get the scene setting, the tension and release, and the input and output. This isn't true of every example, but the pieces should be there, and I've been trying to identify for you when all the pieces aren't evident. You can use these ideas to guide your own writing. Make sure you set the scene properly, then make everything come to life through the narration and conversation. The beginning of this scene is a movement in time. The scene setting gives you that time motion and the place is understood from the context. The next scene sets the time on Saturday following the morning prayers. So we have time moving and then catch the plot to that point.

In this scene you get to see the results of the last few scenes. The tension decreased because of the climax, and I am in the process of building it back up again. The scene begins with a transition and time movement. Notice the time is into Lent. The time is important both for scene setting and for the setting of the novel. Also, I use these in the plot and for the theme.

A couple of weeks
passed as though they were days.The
season of the church was now lent.They
all fasted, although Aksinya wasn’t certain they could actually fast more than
they did.The food in the rectory of the
Ecclesia was filling, but it was nothing like what Aksinya had been used
to.At lent, there was less meat, but
she ate plenty of potatoes and almost all the tea she wished.

Father Makar came
home in a strange mood Saturday evening only two weeks from Easter.Although Aksinya didn’t notice, he wouldn’t
look at her at all.His eyes kept
shifting toward her all through supper.When Aksinya was finished eating, Ekaterina pushed her toward the door
to her room.She placed a taper in
Aksinya’s hands, “Here, you might want to read tonight.I’ll take care of the kitchen.”

Aksinya was so
happy to get back to her Bible, she didn’t think much, but took the taper in
her hand.She stammered, “Th…thank you, Matushka.”

Aksinya headed
down the corridor to her room until she heard the Lady Natalya’s name
mentioned.Aksinya had asked, like
clockwork, but Father Makar hadn’t been able to tell her anything.Aksinya quietly moved back down the hall and
snuffed her taper.The door to the
kitchen was open.The three sat at that
table.Ekaterina wasn’t working on the
dishes at all.

Father Makar was
speaking, “The abbot won’t reveal anything about the Lady Natalya to me.”

“Does he know the
Countess is here?”

“They have no
idea.”

“They are looking
for her?”

“That isn’t clear
either.The Reverend Mother doesn’t know
anything.”

Father Dobrushin
breathed out, “It’s been almost three weeks.You’d think we would hear something, anything.”

“They may have
concluded she is insane too.”

“I’ve watched her
all this time.She is odd, but she is
certainly not insane.”

Ekaterina added,
“I agree.The Countess is anything but
insane.”

“She believes she
contracted with a demon.She is
certainly insane.”

Father Dobrushin
continued, “Whether she is insane or not, is not the main question to my
mind.What I want to know is does the
Cardinal seek her, and what happened to the Lady Natalya?”

Father Makar
hunched over the table, “The Lady Natalya is certainly not dead.”

Father Dobrushin
and Matushka Ekaterina stared at him.

Father Matar shrugged, “I went to every funeral in this city since the
Countess came to us.I saw the
dead.The Lady Natalya was not among
them.Unless the Catholics are hiding
something more sinister than a lady-in-waiting, I am certain, she isn’t dead.”

“Then where is
she?”

Father Makar
shrugged again, “If I knew, I would tell you.I honestly don’t know.I’ve
checked with anyone who was close to the two of them.”

Ekaterina asked,
“What about Ernst von Taaffe?”

“To tell you the
truth, I have not been able to approach him.He is in seclusion.From what the
Countess told us, I’m sure he would have nothing to do with the Lady
Natalya.I was shocked myself when I
heard what happened.The poor boy was
embarrassed and certainly stripped of his honor.”

“You checked at
her house.”

“I check every
day.No one answers.No one is there.”

“But no one is
looking for her?”

“Not as far as I
can tell.”

Father Dobrushin
clasped his hands on the top of the table, “I just can’t believe it.Surely her aunt and uncle…”

Father Makar shook
his head, “Even they aren’t looking.”

Ekaterina scowled,
“Do you think they were so shocked by what happened?”

“No idea.”

Father Dobrushin
pressed his hands more tightly together, “I’m not going to let her out of the
Ecclesia yet.For now, I think it is too
dangerous.”

Father Makar
cocked his head, “If they aren’t looking, then there is no danger for us.Maybe no one wants a crazy woman like her.”

Ekaterina’s voice
was soft, “Hush Makaruska, have you thought, that perhaps we are the only
ones who might care for her.She is not
like most people.She is a little
strange, but she has no place else to go and no one else to turn to.”

“I don’t like
having her here.I have a bad feeling
about everything connected to her.Her
preoccupation with the idea of a demon or with sorcery is just laughable.I think she should be under lock and key in
an insane asylum, but Father Dobrushin won’t let me report her.”

Ekaterina’s voice
was hard, “I would stop you too.”

“She claimed to
kill her lady-in-waiting.Doesn’t that
mean something to you?What if she tries
to kill someone else?”

“We have yet to
determine if what she said was true.We
can’t find any evidence that the Lady Natalya was hurt much less killed.”

“If what the
Countess said is true, she is a murderer.If what she said is not true, she is insane, but you two still want to
keep her in an Ecclesia.If she really
is a sorceress and called a demon, she is the most dangerous person to have
within these walls.”

Ekaterina’s voice
rose, “But she confessed.She has been a
great help to me.”

“She confessed to
murder.She may be forgiven by God, but
she has yet to face the true punishment for her crimes.”

Father Dobrushin
opened his hands, “Everything you say Makar is true.I just know there is more to her and this
whole thing than we know.She is
forgiven, but we will not allow her to escape the just punishment for her
crimes.Even she should understand
this.”

“She doesn’t know
this Dobrushin—she is insane.”

“I hear you,
brother.Let’s sleep on it.She hasn’t caused us harm.We can keep her here a little longer.Check with the police again tomorrow.”

Father Makar
mumbled.

“I, for one, need
to get to bed.”

Ekaterina was
dismayed, “What about me.You had me
send my helper away, and now I have the entire kitchen to clean.Father Makar and Father Dobrushin stood.Both their voices came at almost the same
time, “I’ll help.”

Aksinya
crept down the short corridor to her room.She didn’t relight the taper.She
didn’t read her book.She lay on her cot
under the woolen blanket and thought about everything she heard.Finally, she made up her mind and fell into a
fitful sleep.

The setup here is obvious and very classic, the overhearing of an important conversation. Aksinya has been trying to change. She believes she has accomplished this to some degree. Father Makar brings up an important point--one that Aksinya had not thought of. Although Aksinya has repented her sins before God; she has not repented them before man. Makar's words set in motion the next steps for Aksinya and the steps that now propel the novel. The question here is just how honest has Makar been and just how diligent in seeking information. We will soon discover that many have been looking for Aksinya--there were just reasons they were not so quick or obvious about it.

The following is a question asked by one of my readers. I'm going to address this over time: I am awaiting for you to write a detailed installment on identifying, and targeting your audience, or audiences...ie, multi-layered story, for various audiences...like CS Lewis did. JustTake care, and keep up the writing; I am enjoying it, and learning a lot.

About Me

L. D. Alford is a novelist whose writing explores with originality those cultures and societies we think we already know. His writing distinctively develops the connections between present events and history—he combines them with threads of reality that bring the past alive. L. D. Alford is familiar with technology and cultures—he is widely traveled and earned a B.S. in Chemistry from Pacific Lutheran University, an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Boston University, a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from The University of Dayton, and is a graduate of Air War College, Air Command and Staff College, and the USAF Test Pilot School. L. D. Alford is an author who combines intimate scientific and cultural knowledge into fiction worlds that breathe reality. He is the author of three historical fiction novels: Centurion, Aegypt, and The Second Mission, and three science fiction novels: The End of Honor, The Fox’s Honor, and A Season of Honor.